Steam cabinet for fabric articles



Feb. 18, 1958 R. KLEIN 2,82

STEAM CABINET FOR FABRIC ARTICLES Filed June 14, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. REGINA KLEIN BY Feb. 18, 1958 r R. KLEl-N 2,823,533

STEAM CABINET FOR FABRIC ARTICLES 7 Filed June 14, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR REGINA KLEIN Feb. 18, 1958 R. KLEIN 2,823,533

STEAM CABINET FOR FABRIC ARTICLES Filed June 14, 1955 s Shets-Sheet s INVENTOR. REGINA KLElN United. States Patent STEAM CABINET FOR FABRIC ARTICLES Regina Klein, New York, N. Y.

Application June 14, 1956, Serial No. 591,378

3 Claims. (Cl. 6 8-6) This; invention relates to a steam cabinet, designed to moisten, by the impingement of steam thereagainst, various fabric articles, such as .curtains, draperies, wearing apparel, slip covers, etc.

The invention has" primary utility in the dry cleaning and laundry trades, but is not necessarily restrictedto use in these fields;

It is desirable, during the cleaning of various fabric articles, to moisten the same by. the impingement, of

steam thereagainst'. The steaming of the articles should of course be accomplished with maximum economy andefiiciency, and it is desirable that the steam be uniformly applied over the full area of the articles, as much aspossible.

Considerable difficulty has been experienced, in this regard, in elfecting even distribution of steam over the articles, and it has further been diflicult to insure that there will be a minimum loss of steam vapor during the steaming of the articles. In other words, an excessive amount of steam vapor has been required for the steaming of a particular, individual article, and this of course causes a substantial increase in the cost of the operations being performed upon said articles.

The main object of the present invention is toprovide a devicewhich will not have the" deficienciespreyiously noted in connection with steaming apparatus and to this end, the device constitutes a cabinet having in one side wall a plurality ofperforations, formed over the fullarea of said side wall from top to bottom of the cabinet to provide an inlet for steam. In the oppsite sidewall similar perforations are formed, providingan outlet for the steam, with the steam being caused'to pass from one to the other side walls in impinging relation to a plurality of articles supported within the cabinet. Footoperated valve means is associated with the steam supply.

source, to provide a controlled admission of steam to the interior of the cabinet, and adjacent said means there is; provided a similar footroperated valve means for. controlling, a supply of air, under pressure to the cabinet. Thus, whenever desired, the supply'of steam may be cut off and air can be forced through the cabinet for the purpose of swiftly drying the articles following the steaming thereof. The outlet of the cabinet iscornmon both to the steam and the air directed therethrough, thus reducing considerably. the cost. of the device.

Among more particular objects of the invention are,

able, so, as, to be. capable of being set up inv any desired,

location;

Fourth, to, providerneans for supporting a large number of articles within the cabinet, in such a way as to cause said articles to be fully out of contact with each other, and properly tensioned'over their full areas to insure full exposure of the articles to the steam impinging thereagainst;

Fifth, to provide adjustable article support means within the cabinet, whereby to permit any of various articles, difiering from one. another in size, to be properly supported therein; and

Sixth, to so design the cabinet as to permit ready insertion and removal of the several articles, with minimum loss of time and with minimum difiiculty.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and-to the appended" claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a steam cabinet formed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 4-4 of Fig, 3,

showing the means for vertical adjustment of the article support bars.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 3, showing the steam inlet compartment.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged. sectional view on line 686 of- Fig. 3, showing the steam and air outlet compartment- Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the steam inlet.

Fig. 10. is a fragmentary perspective view, still further. enlarged, of, one of. the bottom clips, a supported article.

being shown fragmentarily and in-dotted lines.

Referring. to the drawings in detail, the reference numeral 10 generally, designates a steam cabinet formed according/to the present invention. In the illustrated example, but not necessarily, the cabinet includes a container of rectangular, vertically elongated formation, but

it will be understood that the container might be of. different shapes, without departure from the spirit of theinvention as hereinafter claimed.

In any event, in the illustrated example the container includes a fiat bottom wall 12, and extending upwardly: from the bottom wall is a back wall 14, and side walls. 16, 18, respectively. At 20 there has been designated;

a top wall.

The container is formed open at its front, and a door 22 is hingedly connected to the front edge of the side wall 16 (see Fig. 2), to normally close the container at the front thereof. The door, at the side edge thereof remote from its hinges 24, is latched in closed position through the provision of a swinging latch 26 adapted to engage with a latching projection 28 provided upon the door. Any of various latch means can be employed, and said latchmeans can be located at various portions of the door, it being mainly important that when the door is closed, there be a tight seal between the door and the body portion of the container to prevent leakage of steam.

In a commercial embodiment, it would be understood aeaasae that the several walls of the container, and also the door, would be designed to provide insulation, to prevent the loss of heat. Thus, the door and the container walls can be of double-walled formation, and insulation material could be employed between the double wall thicknesses if desired.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, means is provided in the upper portion of the container for supporting a plurality of articles, such as curtains C, at their upper ends. Said means includes a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontal rows of upwardly opening, transversely curved brackets 30, 32, 34. The several brackets are all identically formed, and each of them can comprise a short length of material of semicylindrical shape, fixedly secured to and projecting inwardly from the side wall 16.

. It will thus be seen that if, for example, the brackets 30 are selected, a plurality of elongated article support bars 36 can be positioned at one end in said brackets 30, with the other ends of the bars being removably supported in similar brackets 30 provided upon the wall 18. Then, the curtains C can be positioned over the article support bars as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. The bars are transversely spaced from back to front of the cabinet as shown in Fig. 3, so that the several curtains, though quite close to each other, will be fully out of contact with one another. Further, the portions of each curtain depending from a particular bar 36 will also be out of contact with each other. This insures impingement of steam against all areas of the curtains, to effect an efiicient, quick, and thorough moistening of the same.

If it is desired that the curtains be properly tensioned within the cabinet, and to this end, a plurality of clips 38 are secured by rivets 40 or the like (see Fig. to the bottom wall 12. The clips are each formed from a length of leaf spring material, with the opposite end portions of said lengths being extended upwardly and being curved inwardly and then outwardly relative to each other, to facilitate insertion of the lower portions of the curtains therebetween. In this way, the curtains can be tensioned between the article support bars 36 and the several clips. The clips are disposed in rows, with the clips of each row being aligned with an overhead support bar to engage the curtains or other articles depending from said bar.

It is desirable that the steam be so admitted to the container as to cause the steam to be distributed uniformly over the full interior of the same, thus to moisten the articles with proper uniformity over the full areas of said articles. Accordingly, there is provided an inlet compartment 42. The inlet compartment extends from a location just above the bottom wall 12 (see Fig. 3) to a location just below the top wall 20. The inlet compartment is quite shallow, and is of rectangular configuration, the opposite sides of the inlet compartment being spaced inwardly from the back and front of the container a short distance as best shown in Fig. 2.

Similarly, it is desirable that the steam, as it passes through the container, not be caused to travel to a particular, single outlet, since this also would tend to cause the steam to be concentrated in a particular part of a container interior, rather than distributed uniformly. Accordingly, an outlet compartment 44 is provided. This is identical to the inlet compartment, and extends outwardly from the side wall 18.

Steam under pressure is provided through a steam inlet pipe 46, and said pipe opens into the inlet compartment 42 substantially medially between the opposite ends of the inlet compartment as shown in Fig. 3.

It will be noted, further, that at times it is desired to cause air to be fed through the compartment, rather than steam, for the purpose of drying articles that have previously been moistened. To thisv end, a large diameter air inlet pipe 48 extends into communication with the inlet compartment 42, at a location below the steam inlet pipe Although steam and air are supplied to the container through separate pipes, the container has a single outlet pipe 50, common both to air and steam. The outlet pipe 50 is in communication with the outlet compartment 44 medially between the opposite ends of the outlet compartment, as shown in Fig. 3.

Further, after the steam has passed through the com partment, a certain amount of the same may tend to condense within the outlet compartment. To facilitate drainage of the steam condensate from the lower end of the outlet compartment, there is provided a condensate drainpipe 52, equipped with a manually operable drain valve 54.

Within the inlet compartment 42 there is provided a main partition 56. As shown in Fig. 2, partiton 56 is disposed medially between the outer wall of the inlet compartment and the side wall 16 of the container. The main partition 56 is parallel to said side wall 16, and extends fully from one to the opposite side walls of the inlet compartment.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the main partition 56 at its lower end is connected directly to the lower end wall of the inlet compartment 42. However, the main partition terminates a short distance below the upper end wall of the inlet compartment as shown in Fig. 3. Therefore, steam or air directed into the inlet compartment through the pipes 46, 48, respectively, will be caused to travel upwardly as shown in Fig. 3 by the arrows, said steam being directed over the upper end of the main partition and then moving downwardly Within the space between the main partition and the side wall 16.

Disposed in parallel planes normal to the planes of the side wall 16 and the main partition 56 are narrow auxiliary partitions 58 (Figs. 2 and 3). These extend from the main partition to the side wall 16, and are spaced apart transversely of the main partition. As a result, after the steam or air has moved into the inlet compartment, traveling upwardly within a wide space between the main partition and the outer wall of the inlet compartment, said steam or air'will be caused to travel downwardly after passage over the upper end of the main partition, within a plurality of side-by-side, separated, narrow passages 59 (Fig. 2) defined by the auxiliary partitions 58.

The steam or air traveling downwardly within the narrow passages is caused to move into the container through a plurality of inlet ports 60. The inlet ports are quite small, and as shown in Fig. 4 are disposed in horizontal rows, said rows being spaced vertically of the side wall 16 over the full length of the narrow passages 59. Therefore, the steam or air traveling downwardly within the arrow passages will be caused to enter the container over the full length of said passages, so as to be directed into the container over the full area of the side walls 16, that is, from top to bottom of the container and from back to front thereof.

This insures a uniform distribution of the steam as it enters the container, so that it will impinge upon the curtains C or other supported articles throughout the area of said articles.

The outlet compartment is provided with a partition 62, disposed medially between the outer wall of the outlet compartment and the side wall 18. The partition 62, as distinguished from the partition 56, terminates in spaced relation to the lower end of the outlet compartment. However, like the partition 56, the partition 62 terminates short of the upper end of the outlet compartment. Partition 62 provides a bafile disposed in front of the outlet pipe 50, so that steam as it seeks an outlet from the container will not all be directed to the outlet pipe.

Formed in the side wall 18 are apertures 64, through which the steampasses from the interior of the container to the outlet compartment. The apertures 64 are formed similarly to the apertures 60, being spaced apart over-the aisas saa full height of the'container aswell'as'iover its full front to back dimension.

This arrangement is one that will cause the steamto pass out ofthe Container at locations over the'full height of the container, and therefore, since the steam enters the container in a similar manner, it will travel in horizontal paths from side wall 16 to side wall'-18,'to assure uniform distribution thereof over the supportedarticles. As the steam passes'through the apertures 64, it is free to move either upwardly or downwardly within the space between partitions 62 and side wall 18, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 3. Then, it passes either above .or below the partition 62, and travels within the space between partition 62 and the outer 'wall of the compartment 44, to the outlet pipe 50.

Referring now to Figs. 1, '7 and 8, means is provided under the control of an operator for controlling the admission of steam to the inlet compartment. Said means comprises a valve assembly generally designated at 66. This includes a cylindrical valve block 68 v(Fig. 8.)'having threaded, larg'e diameter recesses 70 in its opposite ends communicating with an axial bore 72.

Bore 72, intermediate its ends, 'is in communication with a valve-plug-receiving recess 74. 'Recess 74 extends diametrically of the valve block 68 (see Fig. 7) and is tapered to receive a complementarily shaped valve plug 76 having a transverse bore 78. 'To retain the valve plug in proper position within the block 68, there is provided a nut 80, and the larger, outer end of the recess 74 is threaded to receive the nut. A suitable, leakpreventive gasket 81 is interposed between the nut 80 and the larger, adjacentend ofthe plug.

The plug is rotatable within the recess 74, and for the purpose of effecting therotatable movement of the plug there is provideda stem 82 projecting laterally, outwardly from the valve block. 0n rotation of the stem to'one position, bore 78 isperpendicularto the length of bore 72, to prevent flow of steam through the bore-72. The valve plug is shown in this position in Figs. -7 and 8. On rotation of the stem 82 in either direction through ninety degrees, bores 72, 78 are aligned to permit the flow of steam through the valve block into the inlet compartment.

Foot-operated means is employed to open the valve. This includes an arm 84 extending radially from the outer end of the stem. The outer end of the stem has spline ribs received in spline grooves provided in the inneiend of the arm 84, and to hold the arm in place upon the stem 82 there is provided a nut 86 threaded upon the outer end of the stem 82, the arm 84 being engaged between the nut 86 and a collar 87 formed upon the stem 82.

Loosely, pivotally connected to the outer end of the arm 84'is an elongated connecting link 88, formed at its lower end with a rolled sleeve 89 receiving a pivot pin 90. r

The pivot pin is quite loose within the sleeve, so that the sleeve can swing laterally during up-and-down swinging movement of the arm 84. The pivot pin 90 extends through upwardly projecting brackets 92 formed upon the outer end of a foot pedal 94, the inner end of which is loosely pivoted upon hook-shaped pivot brackets 96 projecting upwardly from a base plate 98 that is bolted as at 100 to the floor surface.

Interposed between base plate 98 and the pedal 94 is a compression, coil spring 102 normally swinging the foot pedal 94 upwardly. When the foot pedal is swung upwardly in this manner, the arm 84 is disposed horizontally, with the bore 78 out of registration with bore 72. By depression of the foot pedal, the arm 84 will be swung downwardly, aligning bores 72, 78 responsive to ninety degree roation of the plug.

A foot-operated means is also employed to control the admission of air through the pipe 48. This is shown in Fig. 9 and has been generally designated at 104. In this instance the valve comprises a circular plate 106, and

themarginal portion of said plate is received between forkarins ofa'sp'indle '108, journalled in an opening of the pipe'48. 1A cotter. pin extends through an opening of the spindle to hold the same in place.

Aligned with the spindle 108, and disposed diametrically opposite the spindle on the plate 106 is a stern 112, also bifurcated at its inner end to receive the plate 106.

.Limiting swinging movement of the plate between its open and closed positions are angle brackets or stops 114, 116 secured to the inner surface of the pipe 48 and angularly spaced ninety degrees from the pivot points of the plate. Stern 112, at its outer end, is secured to a radius' arm "114, loosely, pivotally connected at its outer end'to a connecting plate of a foot pedal assembly 1116 that is identical to 'thefoot pedal assembly previously described in relation to the steam inlet valve.

.It will be seen that assuming that the curtains, clothes, slip covers, or other fabrics are to be moistened, one need merely depress the pedal 94 after the articles have been properly positioned within the container in the mannerpreviouslydescribed herein. Depression of the pedal causes steam'to enter the container in the manner already described, 'sai'd steam passing fully from the side wall 16 to the side wall '18, and being uniformly distributed through the full area of the container to impinge upon the supported articles at all locations.

After the clothes have been properly steamed, the supply of steam -is cut off, and the garments or other articles can, if desired, be swiftly dried by depression of the pedal that operates the valve 106. This permits airto pass through the pipe 48 into the inlet compartment. It will be understood that said air would emanate from a suitable source of air under pressure, and for example a blower could beprovided, not shown, arranged to operate each time thefoot pedal of the pedal assembly 116 is depressed. In other words, depression of the foot pedal of pedal 116 can close a switch to a blower, to cause air to be directed into the container.

Further, it will be understod that if desired, means could be provided for heating the air fed through the pipe 48. This could be effected through the medium of a heating coil provided in the pipe 48, this being considered sufliciently obvious as not to require special illustration herein.

It is to be understood that this cabinet arrangement. may be used in connection with steam or vacuum and a suitable cooling fan may also be included at any suitable location Within or outside of the cabinet.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

l. A steam cabinet for wearing apparel and like articles comprising a container for said articles having an inlet and an outlet for steam, means extending to said inlet for supplying steam to the interior of the container, and means extending from the outlet for leading off steam after passage thereof through the container, said inlet and outlet being formed in respective, opposite side walls of the container, said side walls being perforated at locations spaced from the upper to the lower ends of the side walls and from one to the other side edges of the side walls to provide said inlet and outlet for the steam, said cabinet further including compartments projecting outwardly from the respective side walls and communieating with the inerior of the container by means of said perforations, said compartments constituting inlet and outlet compartments for the steam, said inlet compartment having partitions therein arranged as baffles to cause the steam to be distributed within the compartment for passage through the several perforations of the adjacent side wall, the partitions of the inlet compartment comprising a main partition spaced outwardly from the adjacent perforated side wall, said inlet compartment further including auxiliary partitions extending between the main partition and the adjacent side wall to define separate passages for the incoming steam, the inlet-providing perforations in the adjacent side wall communicating with the several passages, said passages extending vertically substantially from the upper to the lower end of the container.

2. A steam cabinet for wearing apparel and like articles comprising a container for said articles having an inlet and an outlet for steam, means extending to said inlet for supplying steam to the interior of the container, and means extending from the outlet for leading off steam after passage thereof through the container, said inlet and outlet being formed in respective, opposite side walls of the container, said side Walls being perforated at locations spaced from the upper to the lower ends of the side walls and from one to the other side edges of the side walls to provide said inlet and outlet for the steam, said cabinet further including compartments projecting outwardly from the respective side walls and communicating with the interior of the container by means of said perforations, said compartments providing an inlet and an outlet compartment for the steam, each of the compartments including partitions therein arranged as bafi les to cause the steam to be distributed within the compartments for passage through the several perforations of the respective walls, the partitions of the inlet compartment comprising a main partition spaced outwardly from the side walls having the inlet-providing perforations in a plane parallel to said side wall, said inlet compartments further including auxiliary partitions extending between the main partition and the adjacent side wall to define separate passages for the steam, the inletproviding perforations communicating with the several passages, said passages extending vertically substantially from the upper to the lower end of the container, and a partition in the outlet compartment disposed in a plane parallel to the other side wall.

3. Apparatus for treating curtains and the like articles comprising a cabinet rectangular in configuration and cross section, including front, back and side walls, means on the interior of the side walls for supporting curtains and the like in spaced depending condition, said side walls having spaced perforations throughout their areas, a shallow compartment mounted on the exterior of each of said side walls, the outer walls of one of said compartments having spaced openings therein, inlet pipes for fluid connected to said outer wall and communicating with the interior of the compartment through said openings, a main partition in said one compartment extending substantially the length thereof, and being disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of the adjacent side wall, a number of auxiliary partitions extending across the space between said main partition and the adjacent side wall, forming passages communicating with the space between the main partition and the outer'wall of said one compartrnent over the top of said main partition, a partition in the other of said compartments extending substantially the length thereof dividing said other compartment into outer and inner spaces communicating with each other beyond the ends of said partition, said latter partition constituting a baflle, said other compartment having an opening in its outer wall, and an outlet pipe connected to said outer wall over the opening therein, and valve means for controlling the passage of fluid through said inlet pipes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 105,182 Davis July 12, 1870 837,281 Bray Dec. 4, 1906 1,759,179 Wiesman May 20, 1930 1,790,749 Hofstetter Feb. 3, 1931 1,823,352 Crespi Sept. 15, 1931 2,120,844 "Wolfenden June 14, 1938 2,350,021 Dunn May 30, 1944 2,473,823 Sands June 21, 1949 

